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Court orders arrest of former NIA DG Ayo Oke, wife

JUSTICE Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ayodele Oke and his wife Folashade

This follows an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who informed the court that the Commission has had difficulty bringing Oke and his wife to court to answer to allegations of money laundering and fraud against them.

The EFCC had filed a four-count charge against the duo of the former NIA DG and his wife in relation to the huge sums of money discovered by the Commission in a residential apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos, allegedly belonging to him.



Oke claimed that the money, totaling $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000, belongs to the NIA and was approved for the agency for some “major but covert security projects” by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

However, the EFCC alleged that Oke had converted the money to personal use, and had used $160.8 million to purchase the apartment where the monies were kept.




     

     

    He was supposed to have been arraigned in court on February 1, 2018, but the matter was adjourned to February 6. When the case came up on Wednesday, the EFCC could not produce the accused persons in court.

    Counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that the defendants were nowhere to be found and have refused to pick calls from the operatives of the anti-graft agency.

    Meanwhile, there are reports that Oke and his wife have travelled out of the country to Europe, purportedly for medical reasons.

    Recall the in November 2017, when the EFCC tried to take Oke into custody, personnel of the NIA and the DSS took over his residence and prevented the EFCC operatives from gaining access into the premises.

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